


RWBY One-Shots

by Magpie57



Category: RWBY
Genre: Awkwardness, Coming Out, Dorks, F/F, F/M, Flirting, Gen, Genderfluid Character, Half-Sibling Incest, LGBTQ Characters, Male-Female Friendship, Minor Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-10-24 01:25:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10731279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magpie57/pseuds/Magpie57
Summary: Sometimes, you just feel the need to write nonsense. Here's the nonsense that I write that really has no better place to go.Chapter 4: Weiss likes Jaune too much to date him.





	1. No Impulse Control (Weiss/Sun)

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to see if I could make Sun and Weiss work and then this happened. I regret nothing.

Sun was reconsidering his plan; two out of three ain’t bad, right?

Ruby had been cool. It had only taken a short conversation to figure out that she would be on his side when Blake inevitably told him that she didn’t have time for things like dating when the White Fang was on the loose and she was training to kill Grimm. The young leader had made it obvious that Blake’s happiness was more important than any self-assigned mission, no matter how well-intentioned it was. And without him directly having to address exactly why he was asking.

Yang had been a _little_ more difficult to read: she clearly liked him well enough, but he knew that it was different with your partner. If Neptune had earnestly said that he didn’t trust Blake, Sun would have- okay, he wouldn’t have stopped pursuing her entirely, but he definitely would have taken a step back and considered his partner’s words. He trusted Neptune with his life and he didn’t doubt that Yang and Blake felt the same about each other.

In the end, he’d been blunt about it, bringing it up with her after a particularly grueling sparring session. She’d grinned. “You held me off for more than a minute and you don’t _seem_ like a douche. Consider yourself acceptable until Blake deems otherwise.”

Of course, that didn’t come until _after_ some initial hesitation in which she’d asked why he needed her approval to ask Blake out.

They were sitting across from each other on a bench, just out of ear shot for anyone but a Faunus, none of which were present. He’d downed half of his water bottle before responding, still winded after that jab to his solar plexus. “Cause,” he started, “In the short time I’ve been going to Haven, I’ve learned that if the team doesn’t like you, you’re not sticking around.”

Yang had raised her eyebrows, carding her fingers through surprisingly neat hair, “And where’d you learn that?”

He ticked them off on his fingers, “One girl I was interested in, whose team decided they didn’t like her dating a Faunus,” Yang made a disgusted face and Sun placed her as his second favorite member of team RWBY. “This one girl that was chasing Neptune pretty hard, who pissed off Scarlet.” He paused to add, “Don’t mess with Scarlet, man. Speaking of which, they had a boyfriend that… well, he was a stupid pretty boy.”

She’d made a face, likely considering Sun’s own partner.

“Yeah, Neptune isn’t that stupid,” he told her, jabbing a finger in her direction. “He was a damn mouth breather. We- Sage, Neptune and me- thought they could do better and sent him packing after a few weeks.” He stopped, “But you get what I’m sayin’ right?”

Yang conceded the point and gave him her stamp of approval on the condition that she could literally kill him if he hurt Blake. He’d readily agreed, assuming that if he did something like that, he’d deserve it.

And now, he was left with his fifth favorite member Blake’s team (he liked Ruby enough that he felt there should be a prominent gap between her and last place).

…who was currently looking at him with an expression between bewilderment and distrust.

It was a day like any other in Vale, you know, minus the sheer amount of trouble it usually seemed to have. People strolled down the streets with few cares, no dust shop had been broken into lately and no one- _no one else_ \- was giving him funny looks as he went about his business.

“Excuse me,” Weiss asked politely, shifting her hold on her bag. He didn’t know what was in it, but it looked heavy enough that if she swung it at him, it might knock him over. Probably not clothes unless she’d _really_ packed it in there.

“I asked if you wanted me to carry that for you,” he repeated. “Did I say something dumb?”

Her expression now said, ‘Yes, yes you did. What the hell are you playing at?’ All she did was clear her throat quietly.

Sun panicked. “I mean, uh, we’re going the same way, right? Back to Beacon from here? I saw you just strolling, um, heading in that way so I was wondering if you… wanted some company?” Shit, his voice cracked.

The distrust had left and now there was only confusion and… surprise? “If you’re on your way back to Beacon, then we’re not going in the same direction,” she informed him briskly.

There was a second where they both floundered for words.

“But,” she added quickly, “If you would like the company, I suppose we could walk together toward the airship station.” Weiss shifted again, though this time she tugged nervously on the end of her ponytail. Was… was she blushing?

Sun jumped on the opportunity to get on her good side. “Sure, works for me.”

Another second of silent fumbling passed before he made a sweeping ‘ladies first’ gesture down the road. Weiss favored him with a miniscule smile and then continued on her way, fixing her pace so that they almost matched strides.

They made it about a half block in awkward silence before Weiss attempted to break the ice. “So, Sun…” she started hesitantly. “I guess I don’t know much about you.” The moment the words left her mouth, she clammed up, looking uncertain of her own line of questioning.

“Well, there’s not really much to tell.”

More silence.

Sun sighed, “Crap, I’m bad at this. I have no idea what to say to you without making you think I’m…”

“You’re…?”

He tossed his hands in the air and his tail lashed nervously, nearly swatting the heiress on accident before he coiled it down around one leg. “I dunno, I just know that you don’t really like me and-”

Again, she cleared her throat. He looked at her. “I… don’t dislike you, Sun.”

He scoffed, “That’s great.”

“I’m not finished,” she snapped.

Sun raised his hands in an ‘I’m not trying to fight you’ sort of way and let her say her piece.

“I don’t really know you either,” Weiss continued. “All I know is that when I was most afraid for Blake, she was with you and not us.” She glanced up at him, blue eyes peeking out from under her eyelashes. “You’re a complete stranger, but I think I’d like to know you better than that.”

He realized that they had practically stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and picked up speed, though he said, “Well, I’m from Vacuo, but Mistral feels like home most days. I really don’t miss all the sand.”

From there, a halting conversation began. He described Vacuo, his permanently dusty home there, how jarring it had been moving half way around the world, to a place where it seemed so cold in comparison. Slowly, Weiss revealed some of her life in Atlas, the absurd parties her father hosted and dragged her to and a view of the night unlike any other, in which the city glowed more brightly than the full moon. She admitted that maybe it wasn’t as pretty, but those lights would always feel like home to her.

A brief lull hit as they both contemplated their homesickness, but Weiss brought it to a close.

“I believe this is where we part ways,” she murmured. “My destination is further south.”

Then he recalled the exact reason he’d started talking to her. “Ah, well,” he stammered, “I don’t really have anywhere to be right now.” That was a lie; he was supposed to be joining the rest of his team for sparring in a half hour. He’d just have to make it up to them- either by bribing them with food or doubling the harshness of his own training the next day. They’d probably prefer the former, so he figured he’d find somewhere with good pastries.

Weiss’s mouth quirked up at one corner, “Keep that up and I might think you want something from me, Wukong.” But she didn’t dismiss him as she hung a left, casting a smirk over her shoulder at him.

A voice in his head whispered, ‘When a girl looks at you like that, get the hell outta there, son. Especially if she looks as dangerous as your Ma.’

It took him watching the swing of her hips for half a block to realize that he was in danger of ignoring that advice. In danger of potentially abandoning whatever budding relationship he had with Blake. In danger of trying his luck with another human.

But when she glanced back at him again, suddenly lacking in the confidence that she’d shown but ten seconds before, Sun found himself moving in her direction.

The shy smile in response made his stomach flip.

The voice in his head called him an idiot.

He called the voice a hypocrite and fell into place beside the Ice Queen who now drew up a neutral mask.

~

Café del Alouette.

The name sounded fancy and Sun hesitated as Weiss pushed the door open. If it was one of her nice places, he probably couldn’t afford it. He tried to discreetly glance through a window, but it was far too tinted to give him a good idea of the inside. Sun shook his head and steeled himself to politely sit in a high-class place with no drink, no shirt and Faunus blood; it wasn’t the first time he’d been in a position like this, but the looks were always exasperating.

She saw his hesitation, though. “Something wrong?” she asked, looking unaware of any discomfort he might feel.

“Nah, nothing,” he drawled. “I’m all good.”

Weiss raised a delicate eyebrow and stepped in without him, clearly expecting him to deal with his own issues, whatever they might be. He hurried after her.

The moment he got a good look at the place, he learned that his initial concern was pointless.

The coffee shop was no hole in the wall, but it screamed family owned and run: warm colors, soft lighting, black and white snapshots on corkboard, soft conversation not only among the patrons, but between employees and patrons. The smell of hot pastries permeated the air, with hints of chocolate and cinnamon; he could see some of them in a display case. And to top it all off, not only was half of the room Faunus, but the woman at the register had ebony feathers mixed in with her dark hair.

Said woman smiled as she locked eyes with Weiss over the shoulder of the customer she was speaking with. She gave the heiress a brief nod- and Sun a suspicious look- before refocusing on the man in front of her.

“So, uh, you come here often?” He realized how the words sounded as soon as they came out of his mouth.

Weiss did something she seemed to do well- she ignored his awkward stupidity. “On and off since starting at Beacon. Blake suggested it after… an incident at the previous café I frequented.” She gave him a look that warned him not to ask. When he raised his hands in surrender, she continued, “Lark, the woman at the counter, built this place up from a little rat hole. I admire her dedication and work ethic; she’s certainly accomplished a great deal.”

“You say on and off, but what you mean is that you love it here?” Sun was getting the feeling that her raising an eyebrow would become a staple of their interactions. He changed the subject. “What’s good here?”

“Depends: coffee or tea?”

“Uh, yes?”

Her mouth twisted. “Do you feel like something hot or cold?”

“Getting kinda chilly where I’m standing,” he offered lightly.

She sighed, but he didn’t miss the faintest hint of a smile forming. “Try the southern Vale blend, some chai tea, or anything decaffeinated.”

“Tai chi?” he asked.

“Chai tea.”

“Got it.”

Weiss cut him a look that made seemed to question his sanity as well as her own. Thankfully, Lark waved them over before either could start shit.

He nearly jumped out of his skin as she brushed his arm on her way to the counter. He received another look that was quickly quashed for the owner’s sake.

“Hi Weiss,” the woman greeted, voice as warm as her dark eyes. White teeth flashed against brown skin as her earlier smile returned- a smile that Weiss reflected. She then glanced at Sun who was already opening his mouth. “Who’s your date?”

“I’m Sun.” Her question caught up with him about half a second after speaking. “Wait, no- I mean- I-” Sun waved his hands wildly while his tail once again sought purchase around his leg to keep from swatting Weiss in his panic.

Lark laughed heartily. “Strike a nerve, kid?”

Sun cast a glance over at Weiss, his hands still betraying his awkwardness. She had her face in one hand; he could see the hint of a blush.

At last he flattened his arms to his sides and then politely reached one out. “Uh, Sun Wukong. Ma’am.”

“I’m not her mother, Sun,” Lark replied, though she took his hand with a grip that would rival Sage’s. “Nice to meet you, though.” She looked over at Weiss now. “What can I get you two today?”

Weiss ordered that Vale blend she mentioned, so Sun ordered the chai tea. And only managed to flub it once in asking for it and ordering the pastries for his team. He knew that they wouldn’t be cheap, but the smell alone promised that him ditching them would be forgiven.

Lark nodded along as she tallied up their order and read off the price.

Weiss was paying before Sun could even reach for his wallet. “Weiss, you don’t have to-”

“I know,” she cut him off.

Lark took payment, handed Weiss her change and rolled her eyes as Weiss deposited said change, plus a little extra, in the nearby tip jar. She gave Sun a smile. “Swallow your pride and don’t look a gift Schnee in the mouth, Sun. Unless you want to do battle with her pride.” Lark leaned forward conspiratorially. “Spoiler alert: her pride always wins.”

Weiss pouted, folding her arms over her chest. “Excuse me, Mrs. Clover, but I believe I’m standing right here and may speak for myself.”

“‘Mrs. Clover’,” Lark said, chuckling lightly. “Now I’ve made her mad at me.”

It looked like Weiss was ready to continue their bickering, but Lark waved them off. “Shoo, I’ll have Sparrow deliver everything in a few minutes- let us work and enjoy your date.”

Sun, not wanting to deal with that word again, darted off. But not before catching Lark give Weiss a wink and thumb’s up. He didn’t catch her reaction as he found a booth to hide in, though he imagined more blushing and a dirty look. Maybe even an irritated gesture.

He glanced back, only catching Weiss with her chin up and shoulders back, only a hint of red to her face. “I hope that I didn’t offend you,” she said as she sat across from him, looking a bit stiff.

“Nah,” he replied, stretching his arms over his head. A less observant person would have missed her split-second glance downward, but he caught it. Rather than call her out on it, he took a moment to look at her as well.

Weiss was pretty, no one could deny that, but she was incredibly different from the girls that caught his eye. Both Blake, and that human girl, Flora, had come off as less… girly? (Ladylike? Uptight?) Some combination of the above. He’d never seen either of them in a dress or skirt, had seen them belch and go entirely without make up. Weiss, he had never seen in less than perfect condition, except for after that encounter with the White Fang and Torchwick when they first met, in which he could tell that she either hadn’t been sleeping well or simply hadn’t slept at all in a while.

But there were things about her that he appreciated. For all her politeness when necessary, she was very to the point and never minced words with her teammates or strangers. Flora and Blake were the types that could be reticent to talk at all, something that could get old for someone as talkative as him. And, despite the girly/ladylike/uptightness that she gave off, she was dangerous.

Sun had seen her in battle once- it might have been one of the fiercest sparring sessions he’d ever witnessed. On her challenger’s part, at least.

He didn’t know the guy, but he seemed like an asshole.

He also had poor reflexes and a bad temper, both of which Weiss had taken advantage of.

Her movements were impossibly fast and Sun easily lost sight of her save for a blur of white and whatever color dust she was utilizing at the moment. He’d like to think that he could have at least countered her attacks, but he wasn’t too sure.

The guy she was up against was clearly talented, but Weiss was _skilled_. Between her glyphs and her swift, practiced motions, his pure brawn hadn’t stood a chance.

Yes, she was pretty. And a force to be reckoned with. And, from what Ruby claimed, she was every bit as smart as Blake and, by extension, Flora.

Well, shit. The voice in his head was telling him he was a dead man.

“Weiss, and Sun, was it?” a voice said.

They both jumped and Sun realized that they’d been silently staring at each other for over a minute.

Weiss recovered first. “Good afternoon, Sparrow,” she greeted warmly. “And yes, that’s Sun. The chai and pastries are for him.”

Sparrow, her hair and skin slightly lighter than Lark’s, with tawny feathers in her hair, smiled at him. “Hope you’ve got a good metabolism then, Sun, or those abs aren’t going to stick around.”

“They’re not going anywhere,” he replied. “Most of these are for my team.”

She eyed him. “Another hunter in training?” She looked at Weiss. “How’s he in a fight?”

Weiss shrugged. “Blake claims he can handle himself, so I assume that means he’s better than average.”

“Well,” Sparrow said slowly as she set the bag of pastries and both drinks on the table, “on the off chance this doesn’t work out, you’ve still got my number.” She batted her lashes at Weiss before heading back behind the counter.

The heiress laughed and rolled her eyes as Sparrow sashayed off. “In your dreams, birdbrain,” she called after the waitress, who only laughed as well.

Sun rubbed the back of his neck. “So, not interested in girls or Faunus?” he asked lightly. He really hoped it wasn’t the latter. He’d only just decided that he was attracted to her and that would be a hell of a let down.

“Not interested in people looking for short-term,” Weiss replied. “Male, female, Faunus, or human.” She plucked up her coffee, popping off the lid to take a whiff and let the steam swirl and coil playfully in the air. “Sparrow doesn’t do commitment. Or so says her string of six girlfriends and boyfriends in the two months I’ve known her,” she corrected. “I mean,” she added, “I’m not expecting to marry the first person I date, but I’d like it to be meaningful to more than one of us.”

The Faunus grinned as he went through the process of mimicking her actions. “If _you_ are dating someone, they’ve gotta be pretty great.” He took a sip and found the drink a pleasing mixture of spicy and sweet. If it wasn’t so hot, he might have just downed it.

“Well, Lark and Sparrow must think you’re very ‘great’ then,” Weiss murmured over her coffee.

Sun inhaled his drink.

What happened next was not elegant, but Weiss handled it with a degree of composure as Sun burned his tongue, throat and maybe some of the inside of his nose and began coughing painfully into the crook of his arm, only narrowly avoiding spewing it all over Weiss.

She handed him a napkin and managed to keep a mostly straight face, though he thought he heard a few faint giggles through the sounds of him hacking up a lung.

When he had finally composed himself and Weiss had convinced Lark that no, Sun wasn’t going to die and his family wouldn’t be suing her for everything she had, Sun sat up to glare at her.

“That wasn’t funny.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “I wasn’t aware that a simple observation would startle you near to death.”

He rubbed his face and eyed his drink warily.

Weiss didn’t say a word as he took another drink. It was warm rather than scalding now, but his taste buds were too abused for him to really enjoy it. He swallowed it all and nudged the cup aside, resisting the urge to chuck it into the nearest garbage can- he doubted Weiss would appreciate him throwing things.

Then he decided he didn’t care and tossed it anyway.

It bounced on the rim once before dropping neatly into the can.

“Good throw,” Lark called from the counter, surprising the customer she was speaking with. “If you’d missed, you would have been my mop monkey if you ever wanted to step into my shop again.”

Weiss was smiling at him again. “Maybe I should have warned you,” she murmured. “The one time I let Ruby come here with me, she ended up scrubbing hot chocolate off of the floor. And I wouldn’t dare bring Yang.”

Sun leaned forward in his seat, smirking at her. “Alright, when you’re done we’ll see if I end up mopping.”

“I’m not waiting if you do,” she warned him, though her growing smile said that she might sit around to let him know that he missed a spot. And another spot. And hey, that one wasn’t his fault, but it could use some scrubbing too.

“How about this,” he started. He stopped just as quickly as he began, realizing that he didn’t know where he was going with this and internally scrambled for an idea.

Weiss tilted her head in a silent ‘go on’ as she took an unusually long drink. Evidently, she was eager to watch him fail.

“If I make it, you let me buy next time.”

They both froze as they both processed that Sun had asked her out. In the back of his mind, he was a little disappointed that she hadn’t choked on her drink like he had. His tail flicked nervously in the seat beside him and Sun was beginning to worry that he’d crossed a line.

Eventually, Weiss smiled. It was slow and hesitant and absolutely _brilliant_. “I don’t see how I lose here,” she said at last, face pleasantly flushed.

“And I get to pick the place,” he added.

She pursed her lips at that and Sun knew he had her there- she wasn’t the type to give up control without a fight.

“And if you miss,” she asked after a second.

He offered his palms. “I’m the mop monkey?”

“How about you button up your shirt next time?”

Sun waggled his eyebrows. “Distracted?” Inwardly, he was crowing over the idea that she _wanted_ a next time.

“Or maybe I don’t like sharing the view,” she shot back. The look on her face made him swallow hard and his stomach knot. Gods damn, he didn’t know what he just stepped in.

“Deal,” he said, offering his hand.

“Deal,” she agreed, accepting it and then replacing her hand, small and cool, with her empty coffee cup.

~

“So,” he drawled as they strolled back to the dorms, just before where they would part, “six-thirty on Friday work for you?”

She nodded, shifting her bag higher on her shoulder. “As long as we’re back before curfew.”

“No sense of adventure,” he teased. Without thinking too hard about it, he flicked her elbow lightly with his tail.

Weiss caught it between her thumb and index finger with similarly minimal thought. “Well, someone on my team has to keep things together.”

“I thought that was the leader’s job?”

“When she can plan a study session that doesn’t turn into building pillow and blanket forts, it will be her job,” she replied primly. And then realized that she still had his tail. “Sorry! Blake said that-”

Sun flicked her again, her apology stopped by minute irritation. “Hey, if it bothered me, I woulda said something, alright?”

They came to the ‘crossroads’ where Weiss was to turn left and Sun to the right.

“And if you flicking me was bothering me?”

“If you were seriously asking and not as one of those ‘hypotheticals’ Scarlet likes so much?” He smiled down at her, letting his tail fall slack behind him. “I’d stop.”

She favored him with a shy smile. “Don’t,” she told him.

Before he could respond, she’d flicked him on the elbow and was strutting down the hall toward her room. Sun had the strangest urge to run after her and give her a poke in the ribs. Maybe she’d chase him. Maybe she’d slap him. It was a tempting thought, to see how she would react.

In the end, he just shook his head and called after her, “Don’t be late, Ice Queen!”

She glanced over her shoulder, but didn’t dignify him with a response save for that same, small smile.

He turned and headed to his room, pastries under one arm. “I am so screwed,” he said to himself.


	2. In Flux (Minor Renora)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren is gender-fluid, Nora is supportive, Pyrrha is open minded and Jaune is trying his best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... don't gender good. So I've never actually attempted to come out as anything other than gay. I had no idea how to go about this so I just did what I could.

Nora didn’t need to ask, observe or reason- she never had since the day they sat down and talked it out, all those years ago. She just _knew_ from every day onward; neither understood her innate awareness of Ren’s state of being, nor did they care enough to question it. It made things easy. She sat up slowly, stretching her arms up over her head with a long yawn and linking her fingers together to pop them noisily.

Jaune jumped out of his half waking state to give her a longsuffering look that clearly said, ‘It’s too early, Nora, let me sleep if you value my pitiful existence.’

Nora smirked at him, climbing out of bed as loudly as possible, content as her covers ruffled deliberately and the floor squeaked slightly under the careful placement of her weight.

The team leader was clearly unimpressed. Ren even more so. Pyrrha was running a brush through her long hair with a patience that Nora didn’t have; her eyes were on Jaune and his exasperated expression, a lovesick little smile on her face.

Nora shook her head. She was up now for a reason: it was a weekend and, as far as she knew, none of them had any homework or plans and no one seemed to be in a lousy mood. Yes, today would be perfect, so long as Ren didn’t fight her on this.

She sent her childhood friend and savior a sharp, knowing look that Pyrrha had definitely caught despite her focus on Jaune. After a moment’s contemplation, Ren gave her a hesitant nod. Today it was.

So, she got started, darting around the room to gather her supplies while Ren sat up in bed, combing fingers through sleep mussed hair. In the back of her mind, Nora noted that it was no less pretty and that if it grew out, it would probably be prettier than Pyrrha’s hair. But maybe she was biased.

Jaune and Pyrrha had their eyes on her now, watching as she collected the ‘necessary’ items: eyeshadow, blush, eyeliner, lip gloss, a comb and a ponytail holder with a pink cloth flower attached.

The former’s expression was that blank, befuddled look that Nora often evoked from him in her everyday actions. He sporadically glanced over at his partner for her input, though she never looked away from Nora.

Nora wasn’t in Pyrrha’s head (and as much as she loved her friend, she really would never want to be) and thus didn’t know what Pyrrha knew. Nonetheless, Nora was pretty sure that she had figured out that something was up and not just now, as Nora was practically skipping around the room, but over the last few months that the four had known each other. For all of her social awkwardness, Pyrrha was a fighter at heart and the best ones were observant- Nora had never known a better fighter.

She could see Jaune gesture in Pyrrha’s direction to get her and attention and then heard him mutter something that sounded like a question, but she didn’t reply; she was watching as Nora settled on her knees at the end of Ren’s bed. Now he addressed Nora.

“Uh, Nora?” You know, as directly as he addressed anything head on.

“Yes, Jaune?” she countered, gesturing for Ren to come over to her. She was neither looking at Jaune nor acknowledging his confusion as Ren obeyed her silent orders.

There was a long hush as Nora combed gently through Ren’s hair, making sure that every strand she could find was neat and untangled. This was one of the few things in which Nora didn’t mind taking her time, especially when she could still be clumsy with delicate work. Ren seemed to know this, occasionally murmuring a reassurance that she was doing fine and not pulling too hard.

Slowly, she began to divide up the glossy locks into three parts and started an intricate braid that she’d looked up and practiced on Ren a dozen times in the past- she never got it _quite_ right, but maybe it would work today.

Ultimately, her fingers got ahead of her and she had to comb it out and start again. If Ren was irritated, it was well hidden because Nora couldn’t sense the slightest annoyance. This time she went with a simpler braid, one that she knew she could do. It wasn’t as pretty, but she doubted Ren would mind.

Once she finished, she tapped Ren on the shoulder and her friend turned around, wearing a faint smile despite the nerves she could see within.

This part was even more difficult, because Nora almost never used make up and even then, Ren had had to teach her. Unlike the braid however, this part went smoothly. Maybe it was luck, maybe it was her desperation to make this happen.

At one point, Pyrrha had rose from her bed to look over Nora’s shoulder, watching as she finished the wing on Ren’s left eye and moving on to the right.

Once she’d finished there, she panicked, “Crap, was I supposed to do the eyeshadow first?”

“Either works,” Ren replied, soft and lightly pitched.

Jaune was growing more bewildered. “Uh, Ren. As much as I love my sisters, I’d never let them do this in front of my friends. Do you…” he didn’t seem to know where to go from there, brow crinkling as Nora finished off the right eye and picked up the eyeshadow. He seemed uncertain of the idea of ‘ordering’ Nora to stop, especially when the person in question was ignoring him.

Ren held perfectly still as Nora worked, knowing that she’d be unhappy if she distracted in an attempt to answer Jaune- they had time for that later.

“That’s a good color,” Pyrrha murmured as Nora gently brushed on the eyeshadow. “Who picked it?”

“Ren did,” Nora replied, her nose wrinkling in concentration. “Ren picks my colors when I wear makeup too. I’m not as good at picking things that match my skin tone. Apparently, I just go for the shiniest looking thing that doesn’t complement me at all.”

“It true,” Ren commented as she set the eyeshadow aside.

Nora booped Ren’s nose with one end of the eyeliner. “Hush, you.”

Ren hushed as Nora considered the blush, considered Ren, and then tossed it aside, in turn passing her friend the lip gloss. There were some things that Nora didn’t want to test- her self control wasn’t the best and today wasn’t about her. It was about what Ren had been keeping between Nora and herself.

Nora couldn’t say that she understood it, but she loved Ren and if she was happy, Nora was happy. Some days that meant not changing a thing- in which Ren was Ren and he was content with ‘he’ and ‘him’. Others that meant lending her some lip gloss, playing with her hair and avoiding calling her by masculine pronouns so that she didn’t have to hide winces as often because the words felt wrong. Of course, even then Ren was still Ren and Nora loved her no less.

At the end of the day, she loved Ren regardless of her pronouns or what she wore. Though she would love to be able to take her out shopping for some ‘girls’ clothes- Ren would like it, if the way she occasionally looked at Nora’s clothes was any indication.

By now, Pyrrha was actually sitting next to Nora, admiring her work.

“You look lovely, Ren,” she said, looking uncertain but incredibly sincere.

Ren flushed, glancing away almost shyly. “Thank you,” she murmured, playing with the end of her braid. “Nora does good work, doesn’t she?”

“Very,” Pyrrha agreed, giving Nora a warm smile. “I might ask her to take care of my makeup next time I need to make an appearance somewhere.”

Nora preened under the compliments, basking in their words like a cat in the sunlight.

“Of course,” Pyrrha added, “I’m told that it only brings out the beauty that was already there.”

Nora had never seen Ren look so close to tearing up with happiness, but she held herself with more dignity than Nora would have if Pyrrha had so earnestly called her beautiful. Also, it was unlikely that anyone else would have noticed how thrilled Ren was, with the strong hold she had on her smile.

Naturally, Jaune chose that moment to speak up.

“So, Nora, why are you putting makeup on him? And, Ren, are you okay with this?” He was clearly asking with the best of intentions, but that didn’t stop Ren’s little flinch at ‘him’. When no one said anything after a moment, Jaune hedged, “ _Pyrrha_ , back me up here!”

Ren looked like a deer in the headlights and Nora knew she couldn’t speak for her, not for something like this.

To everyone’s surprise, it was Pyrrha that clarified. “I think that Nora is putting makeup on Ren because- they like it.” Jaune stared blankly at her. Pyrrha wasn’t looking back, focused on Ren. “Or… or is it she?”

“She,” Ren confirmed. It was so soft that it would have been drowned out by any other noise in the room or even a noise in the next rooms over. But they heard it.

Jaune sighed loudly, tossing his hands in the air. “If you’re transgender, why didn’t you just say something?” He slumped on his bed muttering, “I thought you were just giving her a make over for the heck of it.” More seriously he added, “No one’s going to judge you, Ren. Worst comes to worst, we’ll literally break someone’s legs.”

Nora and Ren exchanged glances- ones that Pyrrha caught.

“Ren… isn’t trans, is she?” Jaune sat up at Pyrrha’s question, looking every bit as bewildered as earlier.

The pair shook their heads, paying him no mind.

Pyrrha favored them with a patient smile. “I am unfamiliar with the technical term, but I _have_ met people in situations similar to Ren’s. They… were not eager to open up about it, not in Mistral. But I think that Vale will be more accepting.” She considered something and then tacked on, “Though I will break someone’s legs should that be proven untrue.”

“Genderfluid,” Ren said, a little more strongly than before. “The word most people use is genderfluid.”

“What does that mean?”

Again, Nora acknowledged that it came from a place of ignorance and not rudeness, but she was growing exasperated with Jaune’s questions. She got that most people wanted to understand things, but internally, she was used to just accepting what was and quickly moving on- so long as no one was unhappy or getting hurt.

“It means that somedays I feel like a man. And some days I feel more like a woman,” Ren said slowly. “Today is one of the latter.”

Jaune stared blankly once more. “I don’t get it. Are you a man or a woman?”

“She’s a woman,” Nora said impatiently, “today.”

Ren caught her hand and some of the irritation drained. Not all of it, but enough so that she wasn’t ready to tackle Jaune and shake some sense into his empty head. She twined their fingers together and Ren squeezed lightly. ‘This is okay,’ Ren was saying silently, ‘I’m okay.’

Nora breathed deeply and her scowl began to fall.

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

And there it was again.

Ren gripped her hand again, preempting Nora’s outburst. “Believe me,” she told him, “it makes as much sense to you as it does me. But… it is what it is.”

Jaune looked mildly abashed. “I can’t say I understand it,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “But… I don’t want to be that guy.”

“Then don’t,” Nora cut in, only Ren’s semblance keeping her from snapping at him. “Just accept it. Just accept her.”

Jaune looked no more certain than he did before, but he joined the other three on Ren’s bed, expression thoughtful. “You’re gonna have to tell me if I mess something up. Or say something wrong. Or act like an idiot,” he warned. “It’s probably going to happen a lot, but… I’ll learn.”

“That’s all I can ask for,” Ren said softly. For a moment, it looked like she was going to reach out, but she just smiled instead.

There was a long moment of awkward silence.

“So… does anyone know what they’re serving for breakfast?” Jaune asked.

Nora’s eyes lit up, “Pancakes! They’re going to have fruit toppings and everything.”

“Easy on the strawberry syrup,” Ren muttered, likely recalling the last time.

A spoonful of that stuff was enough to keep Nora on the ceiling all day and she might need her around when they met with the rest of their friends and wandered around the school. Nora knew as much and just sent her a grin and wink.

For some reason, she didn’t seem too reassured.

The room slowly stirred into motion: Ren, Jaune and Nora getting dressed, Pyrrha poking her head out to see Weiss in the hallway, still in her nightgown and looking frazzled as she beat on team RWBY’s door; Pyrrha quickly ducked back inside to avoid her wrath.

For a long while, there was only the sounds of opening and closing drawers and rustle of fabrics alongside light breathing. Normally, Jaune would be chatting with Ren and stringently avoiding looking at Nora or Pyrrha, but he seemed to be giving Ren the same treatment.

Nora couldn’t decide whether or not this was a step in the right direction, but Ren looked unperturbed and made no attempt to change the situation as she slipped into her usual fare. Looking at Ren’s clothes renewed Nora’s desire to find her something cute to wear- maybe she’d drag her into town after breakfast and look around some thrift stores, since their money was so limited. They might even invite Pyrrha or someone from team RWBY, if they seemed up for it.

When they finally left the room, Weiss was still in the hallway, looking peeved. She took a look at Ren and then inched closer. “Who did your makeup? Excellent eyeliner, but they clearly weren’t thinking about foundation.”

Ren pointed at Nora, who waved.

 “Either I’m teaching you how to do it properly,” she said to Nora, jabbing a finger in her direction and stopped, then pointing at Ren, “or I’m making sure you don’t need her help.” She paused and then asked briskly, “Pronouns?”

“Feminine, today,” Nora answered for Ren.

The heiress raised her eyebrow and then looked to Ren, who nodded and affirmed, “If you ever need to know, just ask her- she knows.”

Jaune raised his hand. Every head slowly turned to him.

“Yes, Jaune?” Nora asked.

“I was wondering how you knew?” he asked in reply.

Ren and Nora shared a look. Nora shrugged. Ren mimicked the shrug.

“Not sure,” Ren admitted. “She just does. Intuition, I guess.”

Jaune sighed heavily, resting a hand on both Ren and Nora’s shoulders. “You two are so weird,” he said bluntly, though he softened his words with an affectionate smile.

Nora tackled him in a hug before he could properly react, bringing Ren down in the process. Pyrrha had wisely taken a step to the side before she could get caught in the crossfire.

Weiss stared at the three on the floor. “Pot, meet kettle,” she muttered.

“So… did you forget your key?” Pyrrha asked, tuning out Nora’s chatter, Ren’s tired sigh and Jaune’s cries for help.

“Something like that,” Weiss mumbled, slumping against the door to watch the spectacle before her.

The door behind her immediately opened, leading to another two people on the ground as Weiss fell backwards and toppled over Ruby, who shrieked. The hallway was enveloped in a roar of laughter and shouting until Goodwitch appeared at one end of the hall, her hands on her hips and green eyes venomous through her glasses. Silence fell immediately.

“I was made aware of a noise complaint,” she said primly, arms folded behind her back. There was a moment in which she stared all of them down and then turned on her heel. “If you vacate the premises before I turn back around, I will not have to write anyone up.”

Nora grabbed Ren’s hand as she took off down the hall. They run without stopping down two flights of stairs and halfway to the cafeteria before they stopped to look for Jaune, Pyrrha and any of team RWBY. They were alone. Nora realized that she still had Ren’s hand.

Ren held her fast, refusing to let her pull away. “Thank you,” she said softly, linking her fingers with Nora’s.

“For what?” Nora asked cheerfully, looking anywhere but Ren in an attempt to hide her growing blush.

Ren released her hand and instead tucked Nora into her side. “Jaune’s right,” she teased, “you are weird.”

“You better believe it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any thoughts? I'd love to have some input so that I can improve this scene and work out any kinks in my writing in the future, should I end up writing another 'coming out' scene.


	3. Take Me Away (Ruby/Yang)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some days, Yang just wants to be anywhere in the world that she won't be recognized, with Ruby at her side. Ruby lives for days like these.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest: I don't like how this one turned out. It hasn't turned me off of writing more Enabler, I'm just kind of 'meh' about this bit in particular. Since it's nearly three thousand words and this is my nonsense pile, I figured I may as well put it here anyway.
> 
> Written to: Warrior by Beth Crowley and Crossing Field (acoustic) by Amalee.

“Where do you want to go?”

Ruby stared at Yang blankly, tightening her grip on the hand in hers. “Uh, think you shoulda asked that before we came all the way out here?” She gestured to the forest with her free hand.

It had taken a good hour to drive all the way out here and Ruby had no idea what Yang said to Blake and Weiss to keep them from asking to many questions or coming with them. And besides, it was beautiful out here. The weather was pleasantly cool, with a light breeze and the whole area smelled fresh and untouched by the scent of the city and Ruby would never tire of leaves in autumn; there were too many good (if slightly problematic at the moment) memories for her not to love them.

For now, they walked along a winding trail, only two or so paces wide, with trees climbing upward on either side, occasionally rustling with the sounds of wildlife or the wind playing at drying leaves.

Yang rolled her eyes, but her thumb ran lightly over Ruby’s knuckles, belying her impatience. “I mean when we graduate.”

Oh, they were playing _that_ game. She could definitely do that.

“There’s always Vacuo. There’s lots of Grimm around the eastern fringes, so that we’ll always have work and I know you love the heat.” Even if Ruby was less fond of it.

“Yeah, but it’s awfully far from Dad.”

Ruby tugged on Yang’s hand, bringing her closer so that they were shoulder to shoulder as they walked along. “Isn’t that the point? To be somewhere that no one will recognize us?” She tucked herself a little closer as the breeze picked at her hair and clothes, giving her an excuse to intrude.

Yang shook her head, removing her hand from Ruby’s. There was a brief second in which the latter looked offended, until Yang slipped one arm over her shoulder, properly holding onto Ruby who made a content noise and coiled an arm around Yang’s waist. Yang continued, “Yeah, but not so far that Dad’s visiting for long periods of time and getting to know the people around us. Harder to hide it that way.”

“Hmph,” Ruby grumbled. “Fine, what about the coast across from Patch? We’d be on the beach. We could have a boat and be able to sail out to visit Dad whenever we want. And there wouldn’t be a lot of neighbors to complain about.”

“And if we got a pet, we could easily leave it with Dad when we’re out hunting,” the blonde mused. Her eyes locked on an older couple strolling along and enjoying the fall scenery, much like themselves.

“What kind of pet?” Ruby asked, paying the couple little heed save for a shy smile in their direction.

The elderly pair only smiled at them in turn, the woman waving as they passed by, likely taking her and Yang for a young couple like any other. If only, Ruby thought.

It took a second for Yang to answer, waiting for them to be out of earshot. “I know we’re both dog people, but I don’t think a dog would be very happy if we left it so often, not if we want to travel all over Remnant for work. Maybe a cat?”

Ruby wrinkled her nose. “If Dad wasn’t allergic.”

“How about one of those hairless cats, then?” Yang suggested, sounding like she was only half joking.

“They’re so funny looking, though,” Ruby reminded her, already giggling at the mental image of Yang cuddling with one.

Yang looked ready to counter, until a thoughtful expression crossed her face. “Hey, you think Dad would be allergic to Blake too?”

Ruby opened her mouth to call her ridiculous, but she had to stop and consider that. “I’m… not sure? I mean, are her ears actually covered in cat fur or just human hairs? And even if she did have cat fur, would it affect Dad if they were under her bow?”

“Well, I wouldn’t let Blake wear her bow on Patch. She shouldn’t have to hide somewhere she’s safe.”

They shared a sad look.

“Hey,” Yang murmured, “let’s stop here.” She stopped before Ruby and began dragging her off the path.

“You’re going to get us lost,” Ruby protested half-heartedly, never breaking stride with Yang.

“Just you and me, in the middle of nowhere? Sounds perfect to me.”

Ruby snorted. “Cheesy.” But she didn’t disagree; it sounded pretty nice to her, too.

“Damn right!”

With a strong, but gentle grip, Yang guided Ruby over gnarled roots and around fallen logs, sometimes pausing to let Ruby inspect a knothole or burrow despite her desire to keep moving. Ruby would crouch down or lean up on her toes and speculate about the wildlife that could be making their homes there and hope for a glimpse of them. For the most part, there was only Yang, shifting her weight and looking ready to move on. She received a peck of the cheek for every instance of patience. For that, she readily allowed Ruby another moment to search for something fuzzy or feathered.

It was things like that that reminded Ruby how neatly she had Yang wrapped around her finger. She tried her best not to take advantage of it, but Yang never seemed to mind when she did, always reveling in the lingering touches and gentle kisses Ruby bestowed.

They walked for maybe ten minutes, minus the time that Ruby spent looking around. Yang found a place that she deemed worthy: the base of a massive tree, in a spot where the roots had grown down rather than out, creating a hollow just wide enough for the two of them. Yang plopped down and made herself comfortable, but didn’t let Ruby do the same. Instead, she caught Ruby before she could sit properly and tugged her into her lap.

It didn’t take long for Ruby to settle in, shifting slightly so that her head fell back on Yang’s shoulder, their cheeks pressed together. Strong arms wrapped around her middle, holding her fast. Ruby hummed happily, closing her eyes and basking in Yang’s embrace. Warm breath tickled her ear, but Ruby didn’t move, instead stilling to listen.

“I love you.”

“Say it again,” Ruby requested in a whisper. She would never tire of hearing Yang say it. Or, more specifically, tire of hearing Yang say it in a tone that contradicted everything they were supposed to feel.

Yang indulged her, repeated the sentiment more times than she cared to count, with every iteration warming Ruby’s chest and stomach.

“I love you, too,” Ruby said after the ninth time- she _had_ counted.

A soft chuckle sounded by her ear. “Good, I was starting to think you’d have me say that until the sun set.” She sighed contentedly as Yang nuzzled her neck and added, “I know you could listen to me say it that long too, so don’t deny it.” Soft lips teased along her neck, drawing back only after eliciting a sharp inhale.

Ruby stifled her disappointment. They hadn’t broken a rule yet and those rules were in place for a reason, but some days she wished neither of them thought to make them up.

“Do you miss it?” Ruby asked.

“Miss what?”

She paused, wondering exactly how to phrase it. The last thing she wanted was to push Yang or their rule set. Ruby decided to just say it. “Sex. Making out. PDA and all that fun stuff you did with your normal girlfriends and boyfriends.”

Another kiss was pressed into her neck, feather light so that it raised little goosebumps along Ruby’s arms. “I’ve got you. What’s there to miss?”

Ruby shifted and Yang made a concerned noise. And then a very high pitched noise as Ruby sat facing her in her lap. “Don’t sidestep the question,” Ruby insisted. “And don’t pretend that you never did any of that- I’m not Dad, you know.”

Yang huffed and, face still red, drew Ruby in so that their foreheads and noses touched. Both hands rested at her waist, one tangled in her shirt and the other rubbing gently along Ruby’s back. “A bit,” Yang admitted at last, “sex was fun. We still make out,” she reminded her, punctuating the words with a soft kiss. “And PDA… who needs it? I don’t care if no one ever knows.” She stopped, reconsidered her words and corrected herself. “No, I’d love it if everyone knew how much I love you, but I’d rather we be safe.”

“So, you don’t want to break rule three?” Ruby inquired.

Her answer came only after a light peppering of kisses which Ruby had to lean away from to get Yang to speak. “Eh, some days I think about it,” Yang acknowledged. “But ‘we have the rules for a reason’,” she said, Ruby echoing the words as she spoke. Yang tapped her on the nose. “Exactly. We’ll wait until you’re eighteen- three years isn’t a long time.”

“You realize that three years is literally a fifth of my life right now,” Ruby whined.

“And when you’re eighteen, it will be a sixth.” Yang thought for a second. “Yeah, a sixth.”

Ruby whined again.

Yang kissed her quiet.

Pressing close so that she could wrap her arms around Yang’s neck, Ruby could only think about how grateful she was that they hadn’t made any rules about kissing beyond rule two: nowhere in public, even if they thought no one knew them, only in private. Rule four, on the other hand, might need some amending. But that wasn’t Ruby’s concern right now. Her first priority was Yang and making sure the two of them got as much distinctly non-platonic touch as they could in before they had to go back to being happy half-sisters for the rest of the ignorant world.

They always started slowly, nothing intense or rife with lust- as that might break rule three- but just touching Yang always made Ruby’s heart race. It seemed like she had the same affect on Yang, feeling her heart pounding just as rapidly against her chest. Ruby slid one hand up, cupping the back of Yang’s head and weaving her fingers into golden tresses.

The grip on her waist tightened, strong fingers digging in. It loosened just as quickly, one hand pressing into the small of her back while the other mimicked Ruby’s hand, wrapping around the back of her neck. In the back of her mind, Ruby knew exactly how strong Yang was and she reveled in the gentleness that was always reserved for quiet moments like these- for her. Ruby hummed happily.

She felt Yang smile, just a bit, before nibbling lightly on her lower lip.

It was Ruby’s turn to withdraw, though only enough to part their mouths.

They breathed loudly in the silence for a beat.

“Why’d yah stop?” Yang asked.

Ruby smiled and pressed her face into Yang’s neck, just holding her for now. “Rule three, Yang. Did you not notice where I had my hand?” She still hadn’t moved it.

“Fuck rule three,” Yang muttered. The hand at the small of Ruby’s back slid down, covering the hand on Yang’s thigh.

“Actually,” Ruby drawled, not fighting Yang on her hand placement. “I was thinking about rule four.”

Yang sighed. “Fine, if we’re going to have a serious conversation, you’re going to have to get off of me.”

Ruby snorted. “And whose fault was that?” She slipped off of Yang’s lap with practiced ease, this time sitting as she originally intended, shoulder to shoulder.

“The universe’s,” Yang told her lightly, switching her hold on one hand to the other, the fingers laced together. “It made you too cute; I couldn’t resist.”

“You’re such a dork,” Ruby mumbled, even as she curled more closely into Yang. Dust, she kind of wished that she’d saved this talk for the walk back to Yang’s bike. She liked kissing a lot more than negotiating rules.

“I guess this is about a very different dork, though?”

Ruby sighed, “Yeah.”

It wasn’t Neptune’s fault, but Ruby couldn’t help but blame him. Once Weiss changed her mind, he was on to the next beautiful girl who would flirt with him, which happened to be Yang. She was acting within the rules: no dates, no touching beyond what you’d do with a friend and no kissing, only flirting. Ruby couldn’t fault him for being attracted to Yang either- she was gorgeous, funny, strong…

“I can cool it if you want. Flirting’s fun and all, but if you’re not comfortable I don’t mind stopping.” She brought Ruby’s hand up to press a kiss to the back. “You come first for me. You know that, right?”

“I know,” Ruby murmured. “And I’d like that. I’m not saying not to flirt at all, because it’d be weirder for other people if you suddenly stopped after all this time, but… maybe not in front of me?” She pressed her face into Yang’s shoulder. “I really don’t want to share you.”

She felt Yang nod. “Okay, rule four amended then: flirting is okay, just not when the other is present.”

Ruby pulled back a bit to look up at Yang. “Sooooo, now that we have the rule talk out of the way?” She grinned.

Yang didn’t.

“Actually… I think we need to talk about rule one.”

Ruby leapt to her feet, looking aghast. “What’s there to say about rule one?! ‘Tell no one,’ is pretty simple Yang!” She wrung her hands nervously. “Did someone find out? Is everything-”

“Blake knows.”

Suddenly everything was cold. It felt like icy water had replaced her blood. “No,” she breathed. “No-no-no-no-no-”

Yang was on her feet in an instant- warm hands on either side of her face. “It’s okay, Ruby, she doesn’t care.”

Ruby heard her; she recognized the sounds coming out of her mouth and understood what they were supposed to mean in relation to herself, but it wasn’t processing. “Say it again?”

“She doesn’t care.” Yang stroked her cheek bone with a callused thumb. “She’s known for weeks now and she only even told me she knew because she was willing to cover for us. To give us some peace and quiet.”

The panic was coming down, but the sense of fear remained. “How did she find out?”

Yang shook her head. “I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to know. I figured it was my fault, you know? I can’t hide what I’m feeling as well as Weiss or Blake and I’m kinda shitty at keeping my hands to myself.” At that, she withdrew her hands.

Ruby slumped forward, resting her forehead against Yang’s collarbone. “What about rule one then?”

“I think we need to revise it.”

She didn’t get to pull away, to look up at Yang in disbelief; she was being held too tightly. “In what way?” Ruby asked after a moment. She didn’t need to look, she supposed, being hugged by Yang wasn’t something she’d object to- not in private.

“We need to be able to tell some people. The four of us agreed no more secrets and... someone’s going to figure it out eventually.”

“Not Dad.”

“Not Dad,” Yang agreed. “But Qrow might. I don’t care how drunk he is, he’s always the sharpest one in the room. I’ll bet the only reason he doesn’t know now is because he hasn’t seen either of us in person since we actually, uh-” After several months together, neither of them had a relationship title in mind. They were always just Ruby and Yang and that didn’t have to mean the same thing to everyone. It definitely didn’t mean the same thing to them, and now Blake, as it did most people.

Ruby made a tired noise. “Yeah, I know. I kinda thought that Uncle Qrow would be one of the people to know. But Weiss? I’m not sure how well she’ll take it.”

“Believe me, I don’t like the idea either, but we gotta do it. Before she finds out on her own- imagine how pissed she’ll be then.”

“How do you know she’s going to find out?” Ruby whined.

Yang squeezed her. “She lives with us. And I’m handsy. And I love you too much to hide it well.”

“Fine. But not yet.”

“Fine?” Yang asked, loosening her grasp and catching Ruby’s hands in hers. “That’s it? No arguing, no panic attack, no ‘goddamnit Yang, we have rule one for a reason’?”

Ruby smiled up at her. It was on the bittersweet side, but it was earnest. “Nope. None of that. We need to tell Weiss. And we need to tell Qrow. And, maybe one day, we’ll tell our other friends. But… can we not think about that right now?” She pressed forward, leaning up on her toes.

“Yeah, let’s not do the thinking thing,” Yang agreed, meeting her in the middle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: either platonic Weiss and Jaune set in my 'Fairy Tales' universe, Monochrome post volume 4 reunion or a crack pairing that's been poking my muse.
> 
> If you're a person wondering where the next chapter of Fairy Tales is, I am just as uncertain as you are.


	4. Something More (platonic Weiss & Jaune)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss likes Jaune too much to date him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is set prior to my other multi-chapter fic, Fairy Tales, though neither are necessary to understand the other.
> 
> Written to: Nandemonaiya from the Your Name soundtrack and Glass by Thompson Square.

Jaune pressed his head back against the wall, inhaling the autumn air deeply. The rooftop where he normally trained with Pyrrha was blissfully empty of people and that was all that he needed right now, as much as he loved his team. Right now, he just had to cope with his embarrassment.

He was used to embarrassment, to being called a loser and proving it true, but it was harder when his actions and failures were reflected on his team. Pyrrha’s managers- parents, _technically_ , they were her parents, but Jaune didn’t want to touch his feelings on them right now- had called her to question the adequacy of Beacon’s training and mentality that had led to Jaune rather than Pyrrha being made team leader.

His teammate rebuked them as well as she could, making her support clear, but Jaune still felt the sting of their words. For all his efforts, he sometimes felt like he was holding Pyrrha back and she was just too good of a friend for him to do so in good conscience. He thought of Ruby, of his family, of Ren and Nora.

He took another steadying breath. Ruby, and the rest of her team sans Weiss who was conspicuously absent, had congratulated him and his team on their win.

If they, his friends and skilled huntresses in their own right, had thought so highly of him, he could keep going. Weiss’s absence had hurt a bit, considering that she previously seemed to be softening her dislike of him. He still harbored that crush, but had no illusions that she’d be returning the feeling any time soon.

At the thought, the universe seemed to laugh at him.

“Jaune,” a soft voice inquired.

He was on his feet in an instant, whirling to face the heiress. “Weiss,” he greeted, already grinning at her presence.

She blinked at his eagerness, pale eyes slightly widened. “Pyrrha said I might find you here.” Slowly, she slipped outside, letting the door swing shut behind her. Her arms were tucked behind her back and there was a faint flush to her cheeks. “Ruby got after me for not congratulating you earlier.”

Jaune’s smile fell.

“I completely forgot with my sister visiting,” she added quickly, “otherwise I would have been there to compliment your victory.”

The smile returned. “Well, if it’s your sister I suppose I can forgive you,” he said lightly. Despite his attempt at teasing, his heart was racing.

Weiss looked beautiful. The light breeze played with her hair, set loose from her ponytail for the night, and ruffled her skirt around her legs. The dim moonlight reflected off her hair, giving it a silvery, unearthly cast and lit up her already stunning eyes. But more than anything, she wore a smile, something that he’d never seen directed at him before. Dust, he felt like he would be happy to see that smile for the rest of his life.

The smile curved further up at the corners, even as Weiss rolled her eyes. “Ha-ha,” she said. Jaune wondered if she would have swatted at him, had they been closer. But for now, he basked in that smile.

“Anyway,” she added, cutting into his infatuated state. Her gaze softened, alongside her voice. “You’ve come a long way, Jaune. Today more than proved as much.” He preened a little at her words, though she ignored it in favor of continuing. “I was wrong about you; you’re a good leader and you’re going to be an excellent huntsman,” she told him earnestly, looking up to hold his eyes, though they were a mere pace apart. He forgot how small and delicate she looked, sometimes. “And… I’m sorry if I ever made you doubt your worth.”

Jaune’s first instinct was always to make a joke, but he couldn’t seem to find the words. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, held up a finger, made a confused face and closed his mouth for good.

Weiss _giggled_.

He stooped down to kiss her.

She froze under his touch, put didn’t push him off, letting him hold his lips to hers for a brief moment. It was light and innocent and Jaune felt a pleasant warmth curl in his stomach. Jaune kept his eyes closed, afraid of her expression, even as he settled his hands lightly on her waist. Her mouth was soft and the hand that came to rest on his chest was even more so.

When he withdrew, her face was carefully neutral and she tucked both hands behind her back.

“I… totally misread that, didn’t I?” he asked, looking away from her.

Weiss sighed. “A bit, yes.”

“Weiss, I’m so-”

“Don’t be!”

He stopped short, meeting her eyes. She was crying.

“Weiss,” he said again, unable to think of anything else. “I didn’t mean to-”

“Stop,” she snapped. “Don’t apologize. If I hadn’t been such a coward we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.” She turned, looking for a moment like she might storm off, but instead walked over to the ledge where she tossed her legs over the edge and looked directly upward.

He could see tears trickle down her cheeks and fall to the ground.

Slowly, he joined her, though her kept his body firmly _on_ the roof and away from the edge. “I’ve never known you to be a coward, Weiss,” he said quietly. “You’re here, far from your home and family, preparing to fight to defend innocents and doing things that kids our age shouldn’t have to deal with, just because it’s the right thing. You’re not a coward.”

“Danger is nothing,” she told him, swiping at tears with one finger and leaning her weight back on the other hand. “I’m not afraid to look a beowolf in the eye or engage with a member of the White Fang. In that, you’re correct, I’m not a coward. But when it comes to people, I am. I’m afraid to push back against my father and lose his support. I’m terrified of letting down Winter. And Ruby, Blake and Yang. I’m scared to tell them- anyone, so many things on my mind.”

Jaune wanted nothing more than to hold her hand and let her know it was okay, but he didn’t want to cross any lines, so he stuck with the latter half. “You’re allowed to be scared, Weiss. I think we all are.” Shit, he felt really inadequate in this.

She turned her head, looking him in the eye. “Will you keep a secret, Jaune? I know that I have no right to-”

“You have every right,” he said immediately. “I mean… we’re friends, right? Friends can keep secrets.”

The crying renewed for a bit and it took a lot of will to keep from wiping away her tears. “Yeah, friends,” Weiss agreed, managing a hint of warmth in her tone. “I really like you Jaune.”

“But?”

She blinked a few times. She closed her eyes, opened them and held his gaze. “I like you Jaune,” she reiterated, “too much to date you.”

It was his turn to blink. “Uh, what?”

Weiss gave a watery laugh. “Jaune, I’m gay.” The little laugh turned near hysterical and she shook her head rapidly until a hiccup cut it off.

Too his credit, Jaune kept a neutral face.

“I’ve never said that out loud before,” Weiss whispered once her laughter wore off. “Not to my team, not to Winter, no one.” She went back to swiping away tears, occasionally hiccupping softly. “I always assumed it was no one else’s business.”

“You know, if you’d told me I wouldn’t have done that- any of that.”

Weiss’s posture immediately became defensive. “Pardon me, but once I firmly told you no, you should have left me be.”

Jaune flinched. She had a point. “That’s… not wrong,” he admitted, looking away, out over the rest of the school. “Sorry.”

One long breath later, the tension left Weiss’s form. “It’s okay. I trust that it won’t happen again.”

“It won’t,” he agreed instantly. “I’m just- this is Vale, I didn’t think that anyone would really care, here.”

She cleared her throat, drawing his attention. “You’re right: no one here cares. But… it’s one more thing that my father can’t control. One more thing that could prevent me from making a beneficial marriage that will produce an heir of my own.”

Jaune’s nose wrinkled. “What is this, the Dark Ages? Who even cares about those things anymore?”

Weiss laughed once again, this one more time more tired and sardonic. “High society, no one else.”

“That’s dumb,” he said blandly.

“No kidding.”

The pair was quiet for a bit.

Even teary and tired, Jaune still thought she was beautiful; her eyes were still divinely blue and the tear tracks did nothing to distract from that. The sadness about her didn’t make her glow any less and her hair still looked an ethereal silver color. He’d never say it, not in a way that would imply more than friendship on his part, but that didn’t stop it from being true. Nevertheless, she was his friend, and no silly crush would hamper that.

“So… I overheard Coco complimenting you earlier,” he said slowly, “apparently, she likes your attitude.”

Another laugh, the first happy one of the night. “Is this your way of trying to apologize?”

“No, I already apologized. This is my way of being your wingman. Seriously,” he added, “I think she likes you. Or is she not your type?”

“I didn’t say that,” she told him quickly. “What makes you think she likes me?” Weiss leaned forward a bit, suddenly curious.

Jaune grinned. “Well…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is important to me, simply because I've been Weiss a few times and Jaune once and it's never ended well. No matter what, no one (interested in me) has wanted to keep being my friend after I left them know, whether I was Weiss or Jaune, and I'd kill for one time that ended like this.
> 
> Remember that a good friendship is worth every bit as much as a romantic relationship, even if in a different way.

**Author's Note:**

> Next one is either going to be an attempt at Enabler (to gauge whether I can write it for Fairy Tales should it be a thing) or it will feature genderfluid Ren with team JNPR, depending on which I finish first.
> 
> Things that I may possibly write with varying lengths and degrees of seriousness: Qrow/Winter domestic-ness, some platonic Weiss & Jaune, _maybe_ Winter/Glynda as someone once suggested, non-binary Blake (probably general, possibly shipping), Ozpin/Qrow to see if I can write their characters, and perhaps something to do with Raven.
> 
> Your thoughts?


End file.
